Spring is in the air I am thinking of finally taking the winter tires and rims off and putting the proper sized summers back on. Or should I wait for one more snow fall? I never got to drive the car with the proper rubber... Can't wait to see how long the rears will last

 

I just bought my rx8 last week. It came with stock summer tires. What i noticed was that on colder days, the roads were hard to get traction. TSC lights kept coming on.
I would suggest to keep it on for a bit longer. Let spring officially come.

 

Unless it is really snowy I always fully turn of the TSC (hold for 5secs). It now comes as a second nature thing, whenever I start the car. Once I forgot to turn it off and almost smashed into the kerb, when trying to turn on the "dime".
I will probably hold off the summer tires for another week or so.
It would be nice if I could put on the RP supercat, pipercross air filter and the summer rims/tires all in one shot, but unless I get some luck at work the supercat will have to wait.

 

I would wait until the 1st or 2nd week of April to put on the summers. The last thing you want is to get caught with your pants down in snow.

 

If you are running Potenzas then keep the snows on until May 1st 'cuz you'll have more grip...

But if we get a heat wave in April.... tough call.

 

April 1st is my day to switch back to summers.. If you keep the winters on too long you'll just ware them down a lot faster (They don't like too much heat).

It a tricky balance really.

If I could get by without the car (i.e. take the bus some times, or work from home or something) then I would change on March 18th.

 

Twelve inches of snow in the past week + freezing rain last night = LATER.

 

I was planning on putting the summers back on this weekend, but after reading all your posts i think I will wait

 

just ordered my VOLKS/ Gram Light wheels yesterday... it'd probably take 2-3 weeks to get here same as my RA-1s.... so I'll probably put them on in the beginning of April!

 

I've been debating lately as well...

It's not so bad since I have the stock 18's for winter, but my 19's are really calling me... plus I have LM-25s which have claws in snow but wear down faster than anything in dry, cold or not.

April 1st is my d-day though, maybe earlier if I feel the wind blow a little warmer.

 

Major shrinkage?

Mine are comin off this week (the tires).

 

That's my thinking exzactly.

 

I put my new Track rims/tires on for Saturday...and be damned but it started to snow today Good thing it melted before it was too bad and I made it home OK.

275 Falken Azenis do not do well in snow

 

Keep your winter tires on until most of your driving is done in temperatures above +6C. Apparently that is when they start wearing off really fast. Well, except Blizaks...they wear off fast all the time.

 

What's this?!?!!?!? You mean you can put winter tires on the RX8??

I just used the Potenzas they worked great!!!

Then again I guess it depends on were you live, we don't get any slippery snow in Orangeville.

lol

Seriously it does depend on location. If I did have snow's on the 8 .. I would keep them on till late April maybe even May depending on the wind. The wifes vechicle is an all wheel drive Rav4 and I won't put the summers on till Mid to Late April.
IMHO Winter Tires are a major wear item you buy them for your safety if that means driving them during periods that are not exactly suited for them ... then oh well ... that's better then spinning across highway 9 saying to yourself "damn I shouldn't have taken the snow's off yet"

Now if I live in Burlington or Hamilton (Oskee Wee Wee) I don't think they have seen snow since the last Ice Age. j/k

Just remember what Dark Brew said, that if you are running the Potenzas they are not good in cold weather even on dry roads. I do not regularly drive my RX8 in the Winter but I will take it out on dry cold days like in January and February. I am still running the stock Potenzas and you need to be constantly aware of what you are doing. I actually lost the *** end power shifting into 3 third gear it surprised the hell out of me. First and Second gear I was prepared for and anticipated ( I was showing off and trying to slide around A BIT, had the TSC turned off as well ) but third caught me totally by surprise I nearly pooped me pantaloons. The temperature outside when this occured was -13C my point is (and many other will agree I hope) ... that it doesn't need to snow too make using summers tires dangerous (especially the Potenzas) if we get another cold snap in Southern Ontario before May you might wish you still had your snows on.

I'm just say'n .....

 

I have both the rx8 and the winter car on the road for this month. March is very unpredictable.

 

I always wait till the 2nd week of April for putting the summers on. 2 years ago, I put the summers back on my old car on April 23rd and April 24th was an ice and snow storm. It made it challenging to get home. I wait till I know the weather is going to be consistently better.

 

got mine off